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Last Friday, my friend and I took our kiddos on a field trip to the Etowah Indian Mounds in Cartersville, Georgia. If you live around Atlanta or North Georgia, it’s definitely worth taking a day trip up there to explore. We learned a lot, and the scenery was gorgeous!
The Etowah Indian Mounds historic site was “home to several thousand Native Americans from 1000 A.D. to 1550 A.D. This 54-acre site protects six earthen mounds, a plaza, village site, borrow pits and defensive ditch. Etowah Mounds is the most intact Mississippian Culture site in the Southeast.” (http://www.gastateparks.org/etowahmounds).
We spent a lot of time climbing up and exploring the mounds that were used as platforms for the village chiefs and priests, and burial grounds for nobility. We also took a tour through the small museum filled with artifacts that were excavated around the area.
Graham was super interested in learning about the Native Americans, and he really enjoyed the video inside the museum. Of course he had a million questions about everything, so I was brain dead by the end of the trip! Both kids wanted to know a lot about the two stone effigies in the museum. I didn’t get a picture of the statues, but you can check them out at the bottom of the Etowah Indian Mounds Wikipedia page. Maddie enjoyed exploring outside, especially when we got down near the Etowah river. The views were so beautiful – it’s such a picturesque place!
If you visit, make sure to wear bug spray, sunscreen, and good walking shoes. There are lots of picnic tables in the shade if you plan on eating lunch there, like we did. A baby carrier is a must – I think it would be too hard to push a stroller around the grounds. I also see on the Georgia State Parks website that they have special events and fun activities on the weekends. We might have to make another trek up there sometime to check out some of the events!
Also – let’s just keep it real here. Enjoy these outtakes of my kids! Why is it so hard to get them to cooperate for pictures?!
Do your kids like learning about history? Where should we visit next?
